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Bulletin – 03/10
The second round of the 2010 SG Petch ANECCC Stage Rally Championship, moved from the tarmac of Croft Racing Circuit to the North Yorkshire forest for the Proctor’s Coaches supported Riponian Rally. Although the day was dry and bright the conditions on the ground were difficult, with a range of conditions on each stage with snow, ice and mud on most stages.
Finishing 2nd overall and taking maximum SG Petch ANECCC points were Tony Thompson/John Dunning (Mitsubishi Evo 9), Tony described the stages as interesting because of the variable conditions, and was pleased to hold of a late charge from ex-British champion Jonny Milner. Second place ANECCC points went to Jeff McNeil/Fred Roberts (Subaru Impreza) who like everyone else reported the stages were very slippy, but experience few problems. 3rd place points went to the highest placed historic finisher Charlie Taylor/Steve Bielby (Ford Escort Mk II). With the historics running at the front of the field Charlie and Steve were 1st car on the road, and were enjoying the slippy conditions, a change of tyres improved grip on the second loop of stages, they pushed hard as they were not able to compare times with the other competitors, and they eventually won the historic class by just under 1 minute. Peter Thornton/Stephen Thompson (Subaru Impreza) were looking for a clean run as they were not wanting too much work to prepare the car for the Malcolm Wilson Rally in 3 weeks time, as it is 30 years since Peter made his debut on the Malcolm Wilson. They had their clean run but were slowed by a loose intercooler pipe on the first 2 stages, then the turbo was not boosting correctly later in the day.
5th placed SG Petch ANECCC registered competitors were Joanna and Guy Wickham (Subaru Impreza) who said they were a bit rusty early on as it has been some time since they were last out, but a clean run soon blew the rust away. The final SG Petch ANECCC registered competitors were Tony Thompson/Paul Hudson (Vauxhall Chevette HSR) who were using this event as a shakedown for their mammoth season were they are also competing in the British Historic, Northern Historic and Scottish Rally Championships. As with most competitors the said the stages were very slippy and variable which meant they had the right tyres for one stage but they were the wrong ones for the next, in the afternoon the stages were more consistent and the tyres worked well.
John Bainbridge/Giles Dykes (Subaru Impreza) had a very short rally with the driveshaft breaking on the start line of the first stage, they continued to the emergency service after three stages but the clutch was starting to slip so they retired. This was the official line from the team, but the real reason for their early retirement was that Giles could only do three stages as he had to go home to take his wife out. Damien Smith/Frazer Hutchinson (Ford Fiesta ST) were having their first outing in a left hand drive car and were experiencing difficulty in placing it correctly on the road, a good run finished on the 11th stage when they clipped a bridge parapet damaging the front suspension.
After two rounds the current points standings are:-
Drivers
Tony Thompson 21 pts, Richard Cook 20 pts, Chris Singer and Jeff McNeil 15 pts and Michael Glendinning and Charlie Taylor 12 pts.
Co-drivers.
Edwin Cook and Fred Roberts 20 pts, Katherine Singer and Steve Bielby 15 pts and Andrew Roughead and Stephen Thompson 12 pts.
For round 3 it is the turn of the Lake District forests with the Malcolm Wilson Rally on the 6th March, details and regs are now available on the rally website www.malcolmwilson.co.uk
Two weeks later, on the 20th March, it is into Keilder Forest for the Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally, details and regs are now available on the rally website www.bordercountiesrally.co.uk
If anyone has any questions please contact.
Gordon Dundee
S G Petch ANECCC Stage Rally Championship Coordinator
Home - 0191 3773228
Mobile - 07799 140427
E-mail - gordon@dundee.fsworld.co.uk.
Posted in Border Counties, Bulletins on: February 18th, 2010